Although Apple’s recently demoed OS X Mountain Lion may not be such a huge upgrade from OS X Lion, the same way Windows 8 will be over Windows 7, yet the new operating system for Macs does come with a set of minimum hardware requirements.

Apparently some Mac models, that can run OS X 10.7 Lion, could be out of luck when it comes to upgrading to the latest OS X 10.8 on public launch this summer. The compatibility list below was compiled by a developer and is based on the Developer Preview of Mountain Lion, so by the time the new OS hits gold state and is released to the masses, more models may be added. This is not an official Apple list.continue reading

Continuing with its line of feline-themed desktop operating systems Apple has just released some details on its next generation Mac OS X 10.8 operating system, code-named Mountain Lion. Of course Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was just released last summer, but Apple already has been working hard on the next iteration. In fact Apple is moving into an accelerated release schedule and will now start updating its OS X software once a year.

As Apple itself puts it, many of the upcoming new features in Mac OS X Mountain Lion have been inspired by iOS and the iPad. The features include an integrated notification center, deeper iCloud integration and AirPlay mirroring. The new OS will also include Messages, which is an app inspired by iOS iMessages, anyone running OS X Lion can already download the beta now here.continue reading

After several weeks of testing, Apple has finally released a software update for systems running Mac OS X Lion, bumping up the version to 10.7.3. The update includes a number of essential fixes and security patches. We particularly note that the update promises to fix Wi-Fi connection issues when waking from sleep, which is something that our MacBook Air (complete review here) has been suffering from. The software also includes a new version of Safari, 5.1.3 and adds additional language support.

To check for the update on your Mac OS X Lion computer, click on the ‘Apple’ logo at the top-left, then ‘Software Update’. Be sure to have a recent back up of your system before you install the update (e.g. through Time Machine). It’s a quite weighty download, ours measures 730.6MB. We’ll try to update you once we have a chance to test it out on our devices and if this finally fixes Wi-Fi issues on the MacBook Air.

My scenario, I have my MacBook Air connected to a wireless network and I want to give the password to a friend to connect. Now I can go over to my Wi-Fi router and look under its casing where I have the password written on a post-it, but there must be a smarter way around this that would save me the trip. Obviously, there could be tons of reasons why you wound need access to the Wi-Fi key, e.g. you’ve misplaced or forgotten it. The easy instructions below would work on any MacOS X computer that can already connect to the wireless network in question.

MacOS stores passwords in what is called the Keychain. Bear in mind that the Keychain holds a lot more than Wi-Fi passwords, like passwords for websites and FTP servers, networks passwords and certificates.

Connecting the Samsung Galaxy Nexus to your MacBook Pro, Air, iMac or any other Mac OS X computer isn’t as straightforward as other Android devices. Other Android devices offer access through a protocol named USB mass storage, which means your device is treated like a USB flash drive. The Galaxy Nexus uses the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP in short) in order to allow you to transfer media and other files between your computer. Windows PCs have built-in support for MTP but Mac OS computers don’t. If you want a more detailed account of MTP, USB mass storage and the Nexus, hit our article here.

To transfer files between the Galaxy Nexus and a Mac OS X system you must first download and a install the small official Android application named ‘Android File Transfer’. First go here and download the application dmg. Once the download has completed, doubleclick on androidfiletransfer.dmg. Now in the installer window click and drag the Android File Transfer icon to the Applications folder on its right (note you may be required to enter you system password at this point). Now the tool is installed on your Mac.continue reading

For better or worse, Google has been pushing to abolish microSD card slots from Android devices. Some of the reasoning behind this move revolves around making making the experience easier for beginners, i.e. not having to worry where apps will be installed, applications breaking when you remove the SD card or having to download and use a file manager. Of course this goes against rightly disgruntled advanced users who’ve been used to the convenience of expandable external storage.

The Galaxy Nexus (read our full review here) is Google’s brainchild, proudly becoming the first Android device to run version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and as such, it does not have a microSD card slot. Moving the external storage discussion aside, there is one specific functionality that’s become collateral damage. That is USB mass storage. To clarify here, Ice Cream Sandwich has support for USB mass storage but the Galaxy Nexus doesn’t.

USB mass storage is the protocol that allows your computer to view any USB device as a normal storage drive, i.e. gives it a drive letter and you can open it with Windows Explorer or Finder on Mac OS and transfer files and folders as you would with any other drive. If you’ve ever connected a USD thumb drive to a computer and browsed its contents, then it was using USB mass storage. USB mass storage allows block level access, i.e. ‘complete access’ to a storage device. As the Galaxy Nexus has one, unified, built-in storage which hosts both the Android operating system and your personal files it was impractical (if not impossible) to permit block level access on that storage.continue reading

We can’t say this has come soon enough, Apple has just made available its first update to Mac OS X Lion, version 10.7.1. The update brings a number of bug fixes that should at least ease some of the frustration Lion users have been facing.

During today’s earnings call, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, has announced that the latest Mac OS X Lion will be available tomorrow exclusively from the Mac App Store.

Lion will be available to Mac users as a 4GB downloadable update for a $29.99 price tag. The latest Mac OS X version is bringing 250 new features including additional multi-touch gestures, full-screen apps and the new Mission Control and Launchpad — allowing better control of your desktop and applications.continue reading

We are used to Apple being very secretive about new products and services, keeping everything in the shadows until a big media event. So the first surprise to come in anticipation of this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, being held on June 6-10, is Apple formally putting out a press release announcing iCloud prior to the event’s keynote speech.continue reading